The Blog

You know how some things get lost in translation, especially in writing. So I'm hoping this works. Funny thing happened on the way to the manger...
We got over to the Church of the Nativity before the lines were too long because our tour guide is the man! He knows the ropes. And we do have to...

Ash Wednesday
Dear Peacemakers,
While I am in Israel, we had a meeting this week with Malekite Orthodox Archbishop Elias Chacour, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee and founder of the Mar Elias School in Ibiline. He issued some challenges and classic quotes, some real gems, to our group that I think...

Bethlehem. Back to reality in occupied territory. We're back in the West Bank now in area A, administered by the Palestinians, but still controlled by the Israelis.
Going south from area A into B and then C, besides the check points every time you turn around, besides the wall that surrounds...

When we were kids, that was a taunt. Like, if things don't go your way the other kids couldn't care less and that's their response to you. "Too bad, so sad." Augh! I hated that!
So it's 8:30pm on Monday and we just checked in to the hotel in Bethlehem in time to throw the bags in the room and...

This morning when we pulled into Nazareth all I could think of was The Band, The Weight. It's a great old song rife with theology but it really doesn't have a thing to do with Nazareth. It did turn out to be a long day, no nap which is weird on a church day, so I do feel about half-past dead...

Amazing day of Holy Site seeing! First, an early morning boat ride from Tiberias up the western coast of the Sea of Galilee in a large version of what may have been something like a biblical boat. Except for the drone of the motor and a capacity greater than the original disciples, this was a...

My body has no clue what time it is anymore. I'm sure that betrays this rookie "world traveler" because I'm not, obviously. I've been advised to take melatonin but it's never worked for me in the past. So what you have here is another sleep deprived blog. I was also advised not to bring a...

Thursday, last night in Old Town Jerusalem. Sorry this is so long, but the connection is spotty and it takes time. There are pictures on the church's Facebook. I'll keep posting as I can.
One thing we must understand about the Holy Land is that because of the ancient nature of the area, and the...

Jaffa Gate, near the Tower of David, Jerusalem, Feb. 21, 6pm. Not much sleep.
It was a short night! Left Newark at 4:30pm Monday and we literally flew through the darkness arriving in Tel Aviv at about 9:15 Tuesday morning (2:15am EST). It will take longer to get back home next week due to the...

“Peace Be Unto You” in Arabic.
It continues to amuse me that it sounds almost exactly like “Shalom Aleichem” which means the same thing in Hebrew. And I suspect I’m going to be hearing a good bit of both starting next week...